The Man Behind The Metal
by WannaKnownLee
Summary: Just what do the titans know about Cyborg? What happened that made him half a robot? What was his family like? One day while talking, Robin explains a few of these things to Starfire. Mild RS. First TT fic, please review.


A/N: Hello, all, and welcome to my very first TT fic! Okay, before I get started, I just wanna say this: This is a story about Cyborg's past, before he came to be known as a titan. I have never read the original Teen Titans comic series, so if it mentions something from his past that sounds like a TOTALLY alternate universe than what you see in my fic, sorry. I'm just writing what I come up with. Also, even though the fic focuses mainly on the Cy guy, it will have quite a bit of Robin/Starfire fluff. And lots of Beast Boy/Raven bickering. X3 I would write a more "romantic" BB/R fic, but no luck with ideas yet. @_@; So, for now, enjoy this story. Also, remember that this is my first EVER Teen Titans fic. I'll accept criticism with a reason. Don't flame me because you don't like Cyborg, or Robin/Star, or something cheap like that. Otherwise, please let me know how I'm doing, but be fairly light on it.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. All I own are Cy's family and friends from his past.  
  
Chapter 1:   
  
"Yo Robin! Over here! I'm open!"  
  
Robin, cornered by his opponents, looked across the park to see his best friend looking back at him, waving his arms around enthusiastically. He stepped back, leaned his weight upon his right foot, then raised the football in his hand, grunted, and threw it in a spinning toss.  
  
"Oh yeah! Touchdown! Score, baby!" Cyborg exclaimed after catching the ball. He jumped up and down a couple times. Robin ran up to him and joined him in celebrating their victory.  
  
"Nice catch, Cy!" he said, giving him a high-five.  
  
Starfire sighed. "It seems we have been defeated again."  
  
"Showoffs!" Beast Boy muttered, walking over to the tree where Raven sat. "Ref! Did you see that? Cy was obviously outta bounds!"  
  
"The score was no mistake. Cyborg and Robin won." Raven said in her usual unrelenting voice.  
  
"That's a faulty call! You were probably just too busy meditating or something to watch." Beast Boy argued, folding his arms.  
  
Raven glared at him slightly, then closed her eyes and muttered "Azarath-Metrion-Zinthos..."  
  
The football suddenly escaped Cyborg's grasp, floating upward, then zoomed over and struck Beast Boy on the back of the head.  
  
"Ow!" he wailed. He shook his head, trying to "shake out" the pain, then shot a pouty look at Raven. Raven, sitting in her usual meditating position, but with a slight smile on her face, opened her eyes and looked at him.  
  
"What?" she asked, acting as if she were clueless to the dirty deed she had performed.  
  
"Titans!" Robin yelled. "It's starting to get dark, we'd better head back!"  
  
And so the five of them headed back to Titans Tower.  
  
Robin and Beast Boy plopped down onto the couch.  
  
"Phew..." Beast Boy sighed. "Nothin' like layin' around the tower after a long day of excercise."  
  
"Yeah, football can really knock the wind out of you." Robin added.  
  
Starfire walked by and sat between the two of them. "We are lucky that we were able to enjoy this day of running around, chasing after the---pig-skin, was it?---Without being interrupted by evil characters in strange costumes who cause trouble."  
  
Robin snickered a bit. "On Earth they're called villains, Starfire."  
  
"Oh...right." Starfire said, grinning sheepishly.  
  
"Hah! You guys gotta be kiddin' me! You're tired after just three games?" Cyborg boasted.  
  
"Well, we can't all use electric power to keep us going." Robin said. "Speaking of which, how's your battery meter looking?"  
  
"I feel like I'm still pretty pumped--whoa," Cyborg said as he looked down at his arm. "Man, I guess I used more energy than I thought. I guess I'll go ahead and turn in to the charger. G'night, Titans." He waved as he walked down the hallway to his room.  
  
"Sweet dreams, Cyborg." Starfire called out.  
  
"See ya tomorrow, buddy." Robin followed.  
  
"We're gonna beat you next time!" Beast Boy yelled.  
  
Raven sighed. "Sleep well." she said softly.  
  
The room was quiet for a minute or two. A few yawns left one or two of the Titans' mouths here and there, but that was about it, until Beast Boy finally spoke up.  
  
"Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm ready for some major gaming action!" Beast Boy said as he hopped onto the couch and reached for one of the video game controllers. "Who's up for a challenge?"  
  
"I think I've had enough of a challenge today from trying to keep up with Cyborg today. I might go to bed myself pretty soon." Robin replied.  
  
Beast Boy looked a bit disappointed, then shifted his eyes over to Starfire.  
  
"I have tried to play your video game-device before. It was...complicated, with all the buttons and sticks of joy." Starfire said, a bit cluelessly.  
  
Beast Boy sweatdropped and sighed, then looked over at Raven and grinned.  
  
"No." she said firmly.  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Raven, live a little! You can't just sit there with your legs crossed and your eyes closed all day!" he said, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her over to the couch.  
  
Raven scowled and tried to hesitate as he tugged her to the couch. "I don't play video games. They're mere images on a screen, there's nothing lively about that."  
  
"Raven, quit being so literal! Geez, all that depressing poetry's messing with your head!" he argued.  
  
Starfire shrugged and smiled seeing the two of them argue, then noticed Robin walking down to Cyborg's room. She silently caught up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Where are we going?" she whispered.  
  
"Shh." he said. He opened Cyborg's door a bit and peeked inside his room. Sure enough, there he was on his charger like he said he'd be. Robin smiled and shut the door slowly. He then looked over to Starfire, then he walked over towards his own room and beckoned her to follow him. She looked a bit puzzled at first, but followed him anyway. He turned the light on and leaned against his desk.  
  
"Sorry about that. I just didn't wanna wake Cy up." he said softly.  
  
"You do not have to be sorry." Starfire replied, smiling. "But I am confused, why were you looking in Cyborg's room in the first place?"  
  
"Oh, I always check in on him before I go to bed myself. Remember that one time when he ran out of batteries before he made it to the charger, so the next morning he was lying on the floor?"  
  
"Oh, yes, I remember. You were so worked up, afraid he had...well..."  
  
"Yeah," Robin said as he sweatdropped. "I just like to make sure that doesn't happen again, that's all."  
  
Starfire smiled again. "You are lucky to have such a good friend like Cyborg."  
  
"Yeah. Funny, though, whenever I say that to him, he always starts going on about how he's the lucky one. Then he goes on, reminiscing about those old times, about his brother, how I supposedly helped get him out of the worst part of his life, and... Well, we've all heard the story before."  
  
Starfire blinked a bit cluelessly.  
  
"Wait a minute... Starfire, Cyborg did tell you, didn't he?" Robin said.  
  
Starfire shook her head, feeling a bit ditzy.  
  
"Wow, seriously? I thought all the titans knew!" Robin said, a bit shocked.  
  
"Oh...Perhaps he did not want me to know?"  
  
"Nah, trust me, Cy's not the type to keep many of his own secrets. Especially since he believes that we should all trust each other as much as we can, being a team and all." Robin said, turning his palm side-up.  
  
Starfire nodded.  
  
"Well, the thing is, Cyborg wasn't always half-robot like he is now." Robin began.  
  
"He wasn't?" Starfire asked curiously.  
  
"Nope. He was an ordinary human boy like any other. And lemme tell ya, no one, not even Slade, would've guessed that he'd end up where he is now. He was your typical kid, but there was just one thing about him-- no parents."  
  
Starfire gasped slightly and cut Robin off. "No mother or father? Why ever not?"  
  
"They had been killed in a car accident when he was really small." Robin said. "He barely remembered them at all."  
  
"But... How can a child live without parents?" Starfire questioned.  
  
"He had an older brother to watch over him." Robin replied.  
  
"Brother?" she asked.  
  
"I know it sounds weird, but, yeah, his brother took care of him. His name was Dakota. He was about seventeen years old when the accident happened."  
  
"How sad... He was barely an adult himself when his parents died..." Starfire said, looking down sadly.  
  
"Yeah, it was really hard on him. But Cy was only about two and a half years old, so he was pretty blind to what was going on." Robin explained.  
  
"I see... I do not know what I would do if anyone so close to me passed away... Poor Dakota and Cyborg..." Starfire said, still looking a bit sad.  
  
Robin saw Starfire upset and decided to be less negative in his description of Cy's past. After all, Star was the sensitive type, he knew. "I dunno what I'd do either. Heh, but ya know, now that you mention both of them together like that, it reminds me... Cyborg's name wasn't always Cyborg."  
  
"It was not?" Star asked.  
  
"Nope. His birth name was actually Deshaud." said Robin. (A/N: Pronounciation: "De" as in "death" and "shot" ending with a "d" rather than "t".)  
  
"That is a most interesting name!" Starfire said cheerfully. "What made him decide to change it?"  
  
"Heh, don't worry, I'll get to that. Anyway, I guess the story really begins when he was in fifth grade."  
  
"Ah, the Earth education system!" Starfire exclaimed, clapping her hands together softly.  
  
"Right." Robin laughed. "We usually just refer to it as 'school'. Anyway, back then, he was really different, but still very much the same as he is now. He had friends, maintained pretty good grades, and loved to do...well, pretty much stuff that most kids like to do. And even back then, he absolutely loved football."  
  
Starfire smiled and sighed as mental images of a young Cyborg--or Deshaud, in this case-- filled her head. Robin's words drifted through her ears, and she felt as if she were watching Cyborg's life story right there; like she was listening to someone read a book...  
  
~**~  
  
"Hey Deshaud! What're you doin' this Saturday?" a young boy's voice called out.  
  
"My brother's got a football game! I'm gonna cheer for him!"  
  
"Aww, I was hoping you could come over to my house. I got a new video game."  
  
"Hey, how 'bout you come with me to the game, then we go to your place?" Deshaud suggested.  
  
"Hey, that's a great idea! I'll ask my mom when I get home, okay?" the boy asked for confirmation.  
  
"Okay. Meet me here tomorrow, same time. See ya later, Joey!"  
  
"See ya!"  
  
The two of them went their separate ways through the hallway and out the door. Deshaud ran across the sidewalk, up to the corner of the street, as always. He stood there for awhile, thinking about his day at school, when a car pulled up to him, with a window rolling down, revealing a familiar face.  
  
"Yo Deshaud, how was school?" Dakota asked.  
  
"Pretty good," Deshaud said, opening the door of the car and climbing in. "What time's your game Saturday?"  
  
"Four-thirty. Why, you got plans?"  
  
"No," Deshaud said, chuckling a bit. "Joey wants me to come over, but I told him you had a game. So I said maybe he could come with us, and then we'd head to his place."  
  
"Sounds fine to me. Need a ride?" Dakota asked.  
  
"Yep." Deshaud replied.  
  
"Done and done." Dakota said, smiling.  
  
A red light shone from the traffic pole, and the car came to a halt. Deshaud thought about his day while looking around out the window, absorbing the usual scenery. Then he saw a couple of young adults walking down the street, holding hands. The girl had long, shining brown hair, and her partner had short blonde hair. She laid her head on his shoulder as they continued walking down the sidewalk, caressing each other's hands.  
  
Deshaud, after seeing this, had a few thoughts flow through his mind. As a young boy, his first one, of course, was "Blecch!" But then he looked back at the two of them. They looked to be around Dakota's age, maybe even younger. Why didn't Dakota have a fiancée? Or at least a girlfriend, he wondered.  
  
...Then he remembered it was because of him. He couldn't get married or start a family because he had to watch over his brother.  
  
...Wait...No... He could still have a girlfriend, couldn't he? She could assist Dakota in raising him before they decided to have their own child...right?  
  
"Dakota..."  
  
"Hm? What is it?"  
  
"How...How come you never...I dunno... talk to any girls?" Deshaud asked.  
  
Dakota almost stopped breathing for a minute. He had never been very good with girls, and didn't have a father to ask for advice on them. But Deshaud was too young to understand that kind of thing, so he put it a little less bluntly.  
  
"Oh, I dunno, bro, I guess I just... haven't found a girl I'd really wanna, well...talk to." he answered, sighing.  
  
"Oh." Deshaud answered simply.  
  
The traffic light changed, and Dakota pressed upon the gas pedal. Deshaud shrugged off the small talk they had and continued looking out the window.  
  
~**~  
  
"So then anyway, Saturday eventually came around, and--" Robin was cut off by a loud thud coming from the living room.  
  
Starfire gasped as her head turned towards the door. The two of them got up and ran over to the living room to see a smoking video-game system, a meditating Raven, and a very displeased Beast Boy.  
  
"W-what was that for?! Come on, just because you were losing doesn't mean you had to go and...and use your mind to melt my Gamespock!" Beast Boy yelled, throwing his arms back and forth in frustration.  
  
"You were the one losing. And if I didn't do something, you wouldn't stop talking about how you were 'letting me win'." Raven said, opening one eye from the couch.  
  
"Well, couldn't you have just used your powers to trigger the 'off' button instead of destroying it?!" he snapped back.  
  
"This way, you can't make me do a rematch." Raven replied, closing her right eye.  
  
"Hey! If you didn't wanna play, you could've just--"  
  
"Whoa, calm down, Beast Boy. Look, Cy's an expert with electronics. I'm sure he can fix your game in the morning." Robin said, walking towards the two of them.  
  
"Well, he better. 'Cause if this thing is damaged," Beast Boy aimed his finger at Raven and continued. "You owe me a new one!"  
  
Raven opened one eye and rolled it, then closed it again, saying nothing.  
  
"Robin, may we get back to the story?" Starfire asked.  
  
"Actually, Star, I didn't notice how late it was. We all better go ahead and get some rest." Robin said, looking up at the clock.  
  
"Aw, come on, Robin, I've stayed up later than this!" Beast Boy said. He turned into a bat and flapped his wings around. "I'm a nocturnal beast, ya know." Then he quickly changed back.  
  
"I know, Beast Boy. But we're the town's superheroes. It's our mission to protect the city whenever it needs protecting, and that's done best after a good night's sleep. Now, let's get some shuteye." Robin said.  
  
"Robin is right." Raven said, standing up from the couch and walking down the hall. "Good night." she called out, barely loud enough for all of them to hear.  
  
"Good night, Raven!" Starfire called out.  
  
"When Cy fixes my Gamespock tomorrow, you're going down!" Beast Boy said, walking the other way down the hall.  
  
Robin shook his head and sighed. "Well, sorry Star, guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear the rest."  
  
"I don't mind waiting." Starfire said, with the usual bright smile on her face.  
  
Seeing that smile, Robin couldn't help but smile a bit, too. "Good night, Starfire." he said, opening the door to his room.  
  
"Good night, Robin." Starfire said, walking over to her own room.  
  
As she lay in bed that night, Starfire couldn't stop thinking about the things Robin had told her. When she had first come to Earth, she was very shy and timid. She felt that she was not only getting closer to Robin, the one she cared about most, but also learning more about Cyborg as well, which was good. She couldn't wait to hear more about his tales of the past.  
  
(End of Chapter 1)  
  
So, how does it look so far? PLEASE review! Thanks! ^^ 


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